A Moroccan ranked first in the International Quran Recitation Competition

Moroccan Younes Mustapha Gharbi won first place in the category of recitation of the Holy Quran in the International Contest “Perfume of the Word” of the recitation of the Holy Quran and the call to prayer, according to the results announced on Wednesday by the General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia.

The Moroccan reciter, qualified by the members of the Competition jury as “one of the authors of the readings of Riwayat warch ‘an Naafi’, a mixture of Hijazi and Andalusian performances”received a prize of 5 million riyals ($1.33 million).

The contestants of the “Fragrance of the Word” competition presented their latest performances in the categories of the Holy Quran and the call to prayer with a mix of diverse voices that won the hearts of spectators at the world’s largest competition in his genre.

The competition brought together 8 candidates who recited the verses of the Holy Quran and raised the call to prayer with the best voices, which led to a large number of praise and satisfaction from the jury whose members confirmed the high performance and standards of the candidates who have reached the fourth and final test of the international competition.

It is the largest competition of its kind in the world, with more than 40,000 participants from 80 countries. The total value of the contest prizes is 12 million Saudi Riyals ($3.2 million).

The competition, the first stages of which began in 2019, aims to showcase beautiful voices in the recitation and chanting of the Holy Quran, and the call to prayer. It is also part of the initiatives of the General Authority for Entertainment which seeks to highlight talents in their fields. The competition draws its raison d’être from the principle of glorification of the Holy Quran and the call to prayer and the enhancement of the beauty of voices and maqamat among Quran reciters and muezzins.

The jury is made up of a team specializing in Quranic competitions, including the muezzins of the two Holy Mosques, the best reciters in the world and internationally renowned competition evaluators. Thus, the jury is made up of 13 members, including the general secretary of the competition, which makes it the largest jury in the history of Koranic competitions.